Press releases
At least 1 in 7 children and young people has lived under stay-at-home policies for most of the last year, putting mental health and well-being at risk – UNICEF
4 March 2021 - As we approach the one-year anniversary of the pandemic, UNICEF urges greater global investment in mental health services.
COVID-19: Schools for more than 168 million children globally have been completely closed for almost a full year, says UNICEF
3 March 2021 – Schools for more than 168 million children globally have been completely closed for almost an entire year due to COVID-19 lockdowns, according to new data released today by UNICEF.
COVAX PUBLISHES FIRST round of allocations
Geneva/Oslo/New York, 2 March 2021 – The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) and the World Health Organization (WHO), as co-leads of the COVAX initiative for equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, alongside key delivery partner UNICEF, are pleased to publish COVAX’s first round of allocations.
First COVID-19 COVAX vaccine doses administered in Africa
Geneva / New York / Oslo, 1 March 2021 – As the global rollout of COVAX vaccines accelerates, the first COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Africa using COVAX doses began today in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. These campaigns are the among the first to use doses provided by the COVAX Facility’s Gavi COVAX Advanced Market Commitment (AMC).
Statement from Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Nigeria Representative, on school attack in Zamfara State, north-west Nigeria
26 February 2021 - UNICEF today expressed concern at reports of an overnight attack at the Government Girls Secondary School in north-west Nigeria.
UNICEF signs COVID-19 vaccine supply agreement with AstraZeneca
Through the supply agreement, UNICEF, along with procurement partners including the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), will have access to up to 170 million doses of vaccines for around 85 countries. This is the third such agreement for COVID-19 vaccines, following previously announced agreements with Pfizer and the Serum Institute of India.
COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped by the COVAX Facility head to Ghana, marking beginning of global rollout
24 February 2021 - 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine have arrived in Accra, Ghana; further deliveries to Cote d’Ivoire expected this week.
Ghana becomes recipient of historic first shipment of COVAX vaccines
After a year of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 80,700 Ghanaians getting infected with the virus and over 580 lost lives, the path to recovery for the people of Ghana can finally begin.
UNICEF begins shipping syringes for the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines under COVAX
UNICEF has sent 100,000 syringes and 1,000 safety boxes for COVID-19 vaccinations to the Maldives by air freight from UNICEF’s humanitarian warehouse in Dubai—part of the first wave of COVID-19-related syringe shipments to begin rolling out in the coming days. Others in the first wave of shipments include Côte d'Ivoire and São Tomé and Príncipe.
UNICEF UK response to the UK Government’s pledge to donate surplus vaccines to poorer countries at the G7 leaders’ meeting
19 February 2021 - Statement from Joanna Rea, Director of Advocacy at the UK National Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK).
Militia violence threatens 3 million displaced children in Democratic Republic of Congo: UNICEF
19 February 2021 - Global indifference putting a generation of children at risk in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore's remarks at the UN Security Council Open Debate on ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines in contexts affected by conflict and insecurity
17 February 2021 - UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore's remarks on global access to COVID-19 vaccines
Children in Tigray in acute need of protection and assistance
12 February 2021 – As more supplies and emergency personnel reach crisis-affected people in Tigray, a troubling picture is emerging of severe harm to children.
Acute malnutrition threatens half of children under five in Yemen in 2021: UN
Nearly 2.3 million children under the age of five in Yemen are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, four United Nations agencies warned today. Of these, 400,000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and could die if they do not receive urgent treatment.
UNICEF signs supply agreement for Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
UNICEF announced today the signing of an agreement with Pfizer on behalf of the COVAX Facility for the supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine through 2021.